MAKKAH, Saudi Arabia, June 12, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The annual hajj pilgrimage,

one of the five pillars of Islam, will start on Friday with well over one
million Muslims from around the world expected to take part.

Last year the hajj drew more than 1.8 million pilgrims, according to official
figures, after authorities lifted pandemic-era restrictions and scrapped age
limits.

All Muslims are expected to complete the hajj to Makkah -- from which non-
Muslims are strictly banned -- at least once in their lives if they have the
means to do so.

Believers converge on the holy city for several days of rituals in which they
retrace the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH)'s last pilgrimage.

Here is a rundown of the ceremonies at what is usually one of the largest
religious gatherings in the world:

- White garments -

Pilgrims must first enter a state of purity, called ihram, which requires
special dress and behaviour.

Men wear a seamless shroud-like white garment that emphasises unity among
believers regardless of their social status or nationality.

Women must wear loose dresses, also white, exposing only their faces and
hands.

Pilgrims are not allowed to argue, bicker or engage in sexual activity and
are prohibited from wearing perfume, cutting their nails, or trimming their
hair or beards.

- Rituals begin -

The first ritual requires walking seven times around the Kabah, the large
black cubic structure at the centre of Makkah's Grand Mosque.

Made from granite and draped in a heavily-embroidered cloth featuring verses
of the holy Quran, the Kabah stands nearly 15 metres (50 feet) tall.

Muslims, no matter where they are in the world, turn towards the Kabah to
pray. The structure is believed to have been first erected by Adam, the first
man, and then rebuilt successively, including by Abraham around 4,000 years
ago.

Pilgrims next walk seven times between the two hills of Safa and Marwa.

They then move on to Mina, around five kilometres (three miles) away, ahead
of the main rite of the pilgrimage at Mount Arafat.

- Mount Arafat -

The climax of the hajj is the gathering on Mount Arafat, about 10 kilometres
(six miles) from Mina, where it is believed the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad
(PBUH) delivered his final sermon.

Pilgrims assemble on the 70-metre (230-foot) high hill and its surrounding
plain for hours of prayers and the Quran recitals, staying there until the
evening.

After sunset they head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and Mina, where
they each gather dozens of pebbles so they can perform the symbolic "stoning
of the devil".

- 'Stoning of the devil' -

The last major ritual of the hajj is back at Mina, where pilgrims throw seven
stones at each of three concrete walls representing Satan.

The ritual is an emulation of Abraham's stoning of the devil at the three
spots where it is said Satan tried to dissuade him from obeying God's order
to sacrifice his son, Ishmael.

After the first stoning, the Eid-ul-Azha feast of sacrifice begins.

Sheep are slaughtered, in reference to the lamb that God provided for
sacrifice instead of Ishmael, in a ceremony that is held at the same time
around the world.

Men then shave their heads or trim their hair while women cut a fingertip-
length portion of their locks.

The pilgrims can then change back into normal clothing, returning to
circumambulate the Kabah and complete their stone-throwing rituals before
heading home.

- Four other pillars -

The hajj is the last pillar of Islam.

The other four are: profession of the faith, daily prayers, alms-giving and
fasting from dawn to dusk during the holy month of Ramadan.